Box Score
URBANA, Ill. – The Illinois Fighting Illini women's tennis team dropped a 4-0 contest to the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines on Sunday afternoon at the Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois moves to 13-12 overall this season and 7-4 in Big Ten play.
Michigan jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage after a tight doubles point. Senior Alexis Casati and sophomore Daniela Novak dominated Michigan's Ruder-Hook and Wierda, 6-2 on court three. Michigan would take the next two matches on one and two to clinch the point.
In singles, Chiara Lommer defeated sophomore Jaclyn Switkes, 6-2, 6-0 on court four. Senior Louise Kwong fell to No. 25-ranked Kate Fahey, 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 1 position. Michigan's No. 24-ranked Brienne Minor clinched the sweep on court two with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Casati.
Up next, the Illini will host the 2017 Big Ten Tournament next week at the Atkins Tennis Center. Tournament play is scheduled to begin on Thursday afternoon.
Head Coach Evan Clark's Thoughts
"I give a lot of credit to Michigan. We never seemed to get any momentum in the match. Doubles was a really tough point. I think we missed some opportunities on court one and we couldn't quite close it out. After that, singles was quick. You can't give good teams leads like that and expect to win. Maddie (Baillon) was competing really well at three. Daniela (Novak) was making a good comeback in the second, so there were some points out there, but not good enough on the day."
Final Results
#10 Michigan 4, Illinois 0
Doubles-Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*
- #9 Fahey/Najarian (UM) def. Kwong/Vias (Illinois) 6-4
- Lommer/Minor (UM) def. Baillon/Switkes (Illinois) 6-3
- Casati/Novak (Illinois) def. Ruder-Hook/Wierda (UM) 6-2
Singles-Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2*
- #25 Kate Fahey (UM) def. Louise Kwong (Illinois) 6-1, 6-2
- #24 Brienne Minor (UM) def. Alexis Casati (Illinois) 6-3, 6-2
- Madie Baillon (Illinois) vs. Alex Najarian (UM) 7-6(4), 1-1, unf.
- Chiara Lommer (UM) def. Jaclyn Switkes (Illinois) 6-2, 6-0
- Daniela Novak (Illinois) vs. Mira Ruder-Hook (UM) 3-6, 4-4, unf.
- Grace Tapak (Illinois) vs. Valeria Patiuk (UM) 1-6, 3-5, unf.
Records: Michigan 18-4, 10-0 | Illinois 13-12, 7-4
